THE HONEY DRIPPERS – VOL 1 LP – Nr MINT LED ZEPPELIN PAGE PLANT

The Honey Drippers – Volume One
(Es Paranza Records  1984  7902201)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1

Sleeve in Excellent+ condition
– tiny tear at opening edge and sticker mark top right

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
The Honeydrippers were a rock band of the 1980s. Former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant formed the group in 1981 to satisfy his long-time goal in having a rock band with a heavy R&B basis. Formed originally in Worcestershire, the band went on to record an EP in the US. In addition to Plant, the band was composed of fellow former Led Zeppelin member guitarist Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck (a former Yardbirds member like Page) and other friends and well-known studio musicians. They performed in a concert at Keele University in 1981. It released only one EP on 12 November 1984, titled The Honeydrippers: Volume One.

The Honeydrippers peaked at #3 in early 1985 on the Billboard Hot 100 with a remake of the Phil Phillips’ tune “Sea of Love” and hit the top 30 with “Rockin’ at Midnight,” originally a Roy Brown recording and a rewrite of “Good Rockin’ Tonight.” With the EP’s success, Plant stated that a full album would be recorded, but it never was. The band appeared on Saturday Night Live on 15 December 1984, performing “Rockin’ at Midnight” and “Santa Claus is Back in Town.” The band featured Brian Setzer on guitar and Paul Shaffer on piano.

On 23 December 2006, Plant performed a charity show at Kidderminster Town Hall under the title ‘The Return of the Honeydrippers’ to raise money for his neighbour Jackie Jennings, who was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor.

Members

Original lineup (1981)

• Robert Plant – vocals
• Andy Silvester – guitar
• Kevin O’Neill – drums
• Ricky Cool – harmonica
• Jim Hickman – bass
• Keith Evans – saxophone
• Wayne Terry – bass
• Robbie Blunt – guitar

The Honeydrippers: Volume One lineup (1984)

• Robert Plant – vocals
• Jimmy Page – guitars
• Jeff Beck – guitars
• Paul Shaffer – keyboard
• Nile Rodgers – guitar, co-producer
• Wayne Pedziwiatr – bass
• Dave Weckl – drums
• Brian Setzer – guitar (guest appearance)
• Keith “Bev” Smith – Drums

The Honeydrippers: Volume One is an EP released on 24 September 1984, by a band led by rock singer Robert Plant. The project originated when Atlantic Records president Ahmet Ertegün wanted to record an album of his favourite songs from the 1950s. Plant was chosen because Ertegün had seen his pick-up band the Honeydrippers performing 1950s standards. Included in the band were Chic front man Nile Rodgers, and former Yardbirds guitarists Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page—the latter was also Plant’s former band mate in Led Zeppelin.

To Plant’s horror, “Sea of Love” became Plant’s biggest-selling single. According to Plant, the original single was “Rockin’ at Midnight,” with “Sea of Love” as the “B” side. The single was eventually “flipped” because radio stations were playing “Sea of Love” far more than Rockin’ at Midnight. Plant feared his career would be ruined by this, and that people would think of him now as a “crooner”, instead of the rock and roll singer he’d always been. As a result, when he would be asked about The Honeydrippers in years to come, Plant would refer to The Honeydrippers as having been “put to sleep.” “Rockin at Midnight” is a remake of the 1949 recording by Roy Brown, the song’s author, who wrote it as an answer record to his 1947 composition and recording, “Good Rockin’ Tonight”.

Track listing